Why? Because they know you previously have only considered a Sebring when standing at a rental car counter in a Sun Belt state. And while it may be an acceptable "upgrade" for the weekend, you have never seriously considered one for your own garage.And as much as Chrysler wants you to consider its mid-size offering alongside the likes of Camry, Accord, Altima, and Fusion, it knew that couldn't happen when the badge said Sebring.

So Chrysler ditched the name and changed as much as possible of what remained. On the inside, things look much improved. Set in the new soft-touch dash is an analog clock that wouldn't be out of place under a French cuff and worsted wool. Piano black and metallic accents trim the center stack and controls, while dash and door coverings push back with warmth and fine grain. Dig a little deeper, however, and some warts begin to emerge. From a features perspective, the 200 Limited doesn't offer as much as its competitors. Though the infotainment system is much improved by the addition of Garmin navigation software, the Limited doesn't offer class staples like dual zone climate control and a rear view backup camera.

Outside, hiding in plain sight, is another wart. In an attempt to wipe away all memory of the Sebring, Chrysler has unfortunately made the new 200 less distinct. The Sebring roofline remains, but in the process of nipping and tucking nearly all of the sheetmetal, Chrysler eliminated any character the old car had. The result is a smoothly anonymous, quasi-Japanese looking sedan that could have been produced by almost any manufacturer at any time in the last 15 years. Sure, there is a character line arcing across the side, and a tasteful set of taillights flanking a strip of chrome on the rear end, but that's just not enough. The softer, rounder headlights with an LED light pipe accent are another nice touch, but they flank a new slatted grille that could have been pulled off the Hyundai Sonata. Worst of all is how Chrysler designers treated the new name - the 200 applique on the blackout trim of the rear door looks like an afterthought.

I am glad to see actual owners and people who have actually driven this car chimed to challenge this farce of a review. Hey needed to go in with their preconceptions left at home because in reality these were and are good driving, well built and EXTREMELY reliable cars.

My dad bought one with leather seats, the 3.6 liter V6, Uconnect, Boston acoustics package, and the heated seats. It is one good looking car. And guess who else is a "copycat" dopes? Ford and their little "Aston Martin" Fusion/Mondeo! It's got a little Aston grille! Personally, I know that the 200 is not a 15 year old Japanese car, but a car that is going to be known as a cool car 15 years into the future, as a used car!! And the V6 is the best buy!!

@syj1My wife traded in our 2007PT Cruiser on a 2011 Chrysler 200
and I thought "Oh No" we will go bankrupt buying fuel.This beautiful
used Chrysler 200 V6 is getting 27MPG local and I got 34MPG on a 1200
mile trip this past weekend.I was looking for a Chevy Cruze and Thank
the Lord my wife bought this Chrysler 200 for $5,000 less.

I currently own an Audi A4 2.0T Quattro. How does this car compare to the fit and finish of the Audi? I have done about 2000 dollars and the engine now puts out 280hp and about 295 torque, so the V6 makes no difference and I still get 32-35 on the highway with the 6sp man. Why are you comparing this car with ford, honda, toyota and such. It is being billed as a near luxury car like entry level BMW Audi and such. I do like that it is built in America

I own a 200. Pay no attention to this article or you will miss out on a truely remarkable car. Don't let the sebring looking profile fool you either, i have driven both and this car runs and drives nothing even close to a sebring. Exceleration is breath taking with 283 horse power and the handling is great too. Interior is high quality and classy. Body fit and finish are excellent and its ride quality and cabin noise is nothing short of a luxury car. I won't even compare this car to the imports because it is a step above, i have driven them all and easily made the decision to buy a 200. American made quality is back and i can't wait to see future products from Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

The car is very nice for a commuter car I just priced the limited with everything for $23,948. That includes Nav, DVD, Sirius, 30 or 40 gig HD, touch screed, leather, heated seats blue tooth, sunroof and the 283 hp v6. Now I have been looking around for a few months and nothing comes close to this price with all these options. Ford focus was 28+++ thousand and a 4 cylinder we don't need to bring Chevy in to this, Nissan altima is 4-8k more and the Toyota does not even have the above options. For an extra 1600 you can add a 100k warranty. Wrap this all up and you have a nice car with an amazing interior all the bells and whistles a car that can haul a little commuter a$$ for under 25k. Keep the other cars! I'll take my chances.

Looking back at the posts, I had to laugh at lions208487's comment regarding a SAAB. I have owned 2 SAABs in the past. I thought my first bad experience, a 9-5, was an abberation, so I gave SAAB a second chance. Another mistake. The 9-3 was even worse. They were truly bad cars. Horribly troublesome & apparently no spare parts are kept less than 10k miles distant from a dealership. I spent weeks driving courtesy cars, only to get the nasty brutes back again & start over with the whole repair business shortly afterward. A rental Sebring beats the snot out of a SAAB for reliability, if not for (undeserved) snob appeal. Enjoy lions208487, I know what your opinion regarding the C200 is worth, thank you very much.

I recently drove my grandaughter's new 200 in the Canadian Rockies. The car & this review don't match up at all. The car is attractive inside & out, regardless of the external visual remnants from the Sebring. The interior is very good indeed & the seating is also good, not exceptional, but acceptable for trips of several hours. The car is tight & quiet enough for unstrained normal conversation at 120 kph while climbing a steep grade. The steering is quick & sure, with no weaving or drifting on uneven roads or in crosswinds. Power is more than adequate even on mountain roads. The car is actually fun to drive on a twisty, hilly road. I think the reviewers had already decided to burn this very pleasant little car long before they reviewed it. It is almost as if they didn't drive it at all, or had totally lost their sense of perspective. It's a nice competent car.

I drove 3 Chrysler 200's, a V6, I4 6spd and the I4 4spd because why talk if you haven't.I drove 2 Chevy Cruze's an I4 and an I4 turbo to compare because the Cruze is king of the new compacts yet can list at $28,500is the "worst" sedan better than the "best" compact? absolutely!even the slowest I4 4spd won out not just because of everything a Sedan has over the Cruze but because while it's the slowest 200 it's less "busy" to drive, from the outside the Chevy Cruze has a nice full size car look to it and some interior ideas are great but never loses it's compact car feel, the dash looks optimized for cheap left & right hand side drive builds and while modern it's busy and looks compromised, the IC cluster looks cheap in comparison.if buying a $14,999 Cruze then do it but stop when you hit $20,000 and go 200 because it's like a crossover from compact to sedans you get a lot for the price, quieter, more comfy, nicer interior, more room, more solid relaxed feel/operation equal everything else.

Anyone who talks down about this car needs to have their head examined.Let me start by saying that I work for a Chrysler Dealership but am a Ford Guy. Our family vehicle is currently an Expedition which was preceded by a Windstar and an Explorer. I personally just drive whatever I want from the dealership.I chose to take a new 200 Limited home for the weekend and WOW! It has a power sunroof, heated leather, Bostin Acoustics sound and the top of the line 430N Media Center with navigation.Even with these options, the MSRP is just $28,005!The ride quality and handling are fantastic, the audio system is exceptional and the engine and 6 speed transmission are incredible.At freeway speed, the cabin is silent. There is even enough room for my slightly over-sized 14 year old to be comfortable in the back seat. This car is simply amazing!If you take the time to drive the others then a new 200 V6, you will see for yourself.

I had this debate with a friend, a loaded Civic can hit $27000.00 but lacks a V6 and isn't in the same class, an almost loaded Accord minus sunroof is $37000.00 while the 200 loaded minus sunroof is just shy of $30,000.00I find all to often auto reviews don't factor price into their reviews near enough.... it's a scary thought, focus too much and the experience suffers while auto companies are stuck catering to the lowest denominator but ignore price and the image skews in the opposite direction.the 200 is better than the Sebring but to be honest I get the impression for the price it's far better than that and is a very good car for the money.I'm considering buying new for the first time (have leased) the 200 is at the top so far because of what I can get for the money.

After actually driving a 200 I wish that I had seen it before buying a Fusion for my wife 2 months ago. I thought it handled well in the real world. The entertainment/electronics were outstanding, much easier to use than SYNC.

Uuh . . . the CTS is not a competitor to this car, and vice versa. They're not even in the same class, so it's unfair to compare them.Chrysler is more on a Buick/Honda/Toyota/Ford level. The Imperial, which isn't made anymore, was the competitor to the Cadillac.

somone earlier said the Fusion and 6 get the same mileage- not true. The 6 has a 3.7L V6 and gets a class worst 17/25. MT is smoking something illegal when they say this car gets mileage near the bottom of the pact. It has the best V6 mileage of the domestics and exceeds the Mazda V6 while basically tying the Camry V6.

How in the world is 19/29 near the back of the class? That is blatantly false. The 6, Altima, Malibu and Fusion are all rated lower. Only Accord is better- by 1mpg. DOes MT proofread this stuff before posting?

A turd on wheels. I feel sorry for the ignorant masses who buy this. But then again, survival of the fittest. Chrysler is like the runt pup of the litter struggling to suck on that last teat. Just put the deformed runt out of its misery already.

Looks and seems much better then last years model? PRICE AS TESTED $29,135 thats a joke right... I don't know about you but I would never spend that kind of cash on any front wheel drive car. Hope there is a lower cost model

Oh, you could only afford the "200" I see. 0-60 in 6.4 second great, but you should have geared this car for the mid 7's & went for fuel ecomony instead. Which rental car fleet is going to get this car? It looks like it was designed for rental car duty.

To even mention this car in the same breath as an Acura or even a Saab pretty means you have no clue about anything to do with cars period..... This is a Camry fighter that lost the battle right from the start. The Pentastar V6 is a quality engine that gave this potential to be a success in every way, and Chrystler completely messed that up with this subpar piece.

The engine is great, and the interior is vastly improved, and that's where the good news ends. Everything else about the 200 falls short, and it is obvious that Fiat and Chrystler rushed this car quite a bit just to bring it to market faster then it should have. I hope the next year Chrystler will fix the design flaws in the driving capability of this 200, or lack there of. The new Journey is much improved as is the Challenger and Charger, I just wish they would have put the same time into the deatils needed to complete this car.

Of course Motortrend, the 200 is way behind in it's class.Acceleration in easily 2nd place.Fuel Economy in on par with it's Japanese competitors. Your comparing a four-cylinder Sonata to a V6 200. In what world is that fair?200 V6 19-29Malibu V6 17-26Fusion V6 18-27Altima V6 20-27Camry V6 20-29Accord V6 20-30No Sonata V6.

Motortrend is wrong on the mileage numbers. This is V6s (or equivalent) in competitors vehicles.1)Hyundai 22-332)Honda 20-303)Toyota 20-294)Chrysler 19-295)Nissan 20-276)Mazda/Ford 18/277)Chevy 17/268)Subaru 18/25(all of these numbers were taken off of Chevy's competitive comparison page)The Chrysler has more HP then all of them and also the 3rd most torque (Hyundai and Mazda or tied for 1st). The only motor that is better then the Pentastar when balanced for power and FE is the 2.0T by Hyundai.The car is a top safety pick, has excellent hp and mileage, its handling capabilities "put it near the top of its competitive set", and is cheaper (in it top form) then any other vehicle in its class. These are more then enough reasons in to over look it somewhat bland styling. Only in V6 form though, the 4 cylinder is a little disappointing.

Could someone explain this to me. I read a confusing article on Allpar about the 200. They were claiming that this 200 is just a stop gap until the "real 200" is built in 2013 with a Fiat platform. The "real 200" is supposed to look identical to the concept debut a few years ago and is supposed to rival Lexus. Is this true? Thanks. IF so that concept 200 is really gonna be a good seller if made as is.

Finishes in the bottom third of class fuel economy? If the estimates hold out, only 2 vehicles beat it in terms of hwy mileage (sonota 2.0T and honda accord), it ties the camry, and then is placed ahead of 3.0 liter and 3.5 fusion, malibu, Azera, altima, mazda6, and lacrosse. Even in combined mileage (~23) puts it right in the mix, upper portion of the class (they're all bunched b/w 24-20). Impressive performance with good mileage...exactly what the pentastar engine promised. When the engine is finally paired with a more modern trans, I'm sure we'll see more impressive numbers.

So let me get this straight, it says in the article that Chrysler took away the 'character' the previous generation had? If you're going to complain about how ugly a model is, when the company cleans up the design don't whine about how the character is gone.

Based on the interior photos those doors still look like they're covered in the cheapest plastic imaginable. I really wish the company would ditch the whole quasi-retro whatever-it-is exterior styling too. It's fugly as all hell!At any rate it's an improvement, but it sounds like it still lingers in Galant territory.

Hey Chrysler, the problem with the Sebring wasn't the name, it was the car!! Good job of making lemonade out of the lemon that is the current Sebring, but until a new 200 comes out (hopefully closely resembling the show car), your Sebring/200 is still a (much improved) backmarker!!

Well, I am not in love, but I'm glad progress is being made. The interior is MUCH improved, to the point that I think it's very class competitive. Sadly, I'm just not diggin' the exterior. I really hope Chrysler can take another big leap ahead in the next model generation. I think they did a decent job with what they had, but there's a lot more to be done before I would personally consider one. But, for the average buyer, I"m not sure the styling will hinder sales...the competition has proven that in this segment driving dynamics and styling aren't a make-or-break item.